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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bass — low music
  4. pop — soda
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. pop — to visit
  8. fall — the season
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cue — a signal
  12. court — for sport
  13. cue — for pool
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. pop — music
  16. tear — to rip
  17. court — of law
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. fall — to drop
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bass — the fish
  22. court — of a king
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. foot — a measure

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com